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MOH will launch two new initiatives this year, to allow Singaporeans
to make greater use of their Medisave accounts: |
(a) to cover elective
(i.e. non-urgent) hospitalisation in approved hospitals overseas;
(b) to cover home palliative care. |
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(a) Elective
Hospitalisation for Treatment Overseas |
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Medisave is meant to
cover treatment in Singapore; but we have allowed the use of
Medisave overseas under strict conditions such as emergency
treatment (e.g. a heart attack while overseas). |
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Over the years, we have
received requests from many Singaporeans about allowing the use of
their Medisave for elective hospitalisation overseas. The unionists
have asked for this at a public dialogue with the Minister for
Health. More recently, the issue was raised in Parliament by several
MPs. |
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MOH has decided to allow
this. This will give Singaporeans a wider choice of hospitals when
considering elective treatment, so as to help them stretch their
Medisave dollars and save money. There are however, concerns over
ensuring safety and adequate standards, while guarding against
fraudulent claims. |
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We will hence allow this use cautiously, with suitable safeguards.
Overseas Medisave use will only be limited to hospitalisations and
day surgeries. The overseas hospital should have an approved working
arrangement with a Medisave-accredited hospital in Singapore.
Medisave claims can only be made through the Singapore hospitals,
and subject to the following conditions: |
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(i) Overseas use of Medisave should be
limited to patients normally resident in Singapore; |
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(ii) The local attending doctor should
certify the patient’s condition and necessity of medical treatment;
and |
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(iii) The referring local hospitals
remain accountable for patient satisfaction and good clinical
outcomes for patients referred overseas, at the same standard as if
the patients were treated in Singapore. |
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MOH has started discussions with a
number of Singapore hospitals who are keen to make this option
available to their patients. The scheme will be implemented as soon
as they are ready. |
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(b) Home Palliative Care |
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Palliative care provides a programme of
coordinated medical and nursing care to the terminally ill. It aims
to improve the quality of life for the patients through pain
control, symptom relief, nursing care, counselling and bereavement
support. |
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Palliative care can be provided at home
or in a hospice. Currently, Medisave can be used for inpatient
hospice stays, subject to a withdrawal limit of $160 per day. Many
patients who do not require inpatient hospice treatment often prefer
to spend their last days in their own homes. MOH encourages this and
will hence facilitate this by allowing them to use their Medisave
for home palliative care. This extension of Medisave will provide
the patients with more choice for palliative care. |
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MOH is working with the providers of
palliative care on the implementation details such as home
palliative protocols and suitable guidelines. The scheme will be
implemented as soon as they are ready. |
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(c) Other Initiatives |
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These two initiatives add to the other
Medisave liberalisation initiatives which MOH had earlier announced
for implementation this year: |
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(i) Higher surgical withdrawal limits.
The current Medisave limits of $150 to $5,000 will be raised, to
range from $250 to $7,550 . This will take effect from 1 June 2009.
This would reduce the out-of-pocket expenses of all surgical
patients, and will particularly help those in Class A/B1 and private
hospitals. |
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(ii) Extension of CDMP to mental
illnesses. The Medisave Chronic Disease Management Programme (CDMP)
will be extended to cover the mentally ill patients, starting with
schizophrenia and major depression. This will be rolled out in Oct
2009. |
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To gear up for this implementation, MOH
has just appointed a Clinical Advisory Committee to help guide the
implementation of the programme. |
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The committee will be chaired by A/Prof
Wong Kim Eng, Clinical Director of the National Addictions
Management Service and former Chair of the Medical Board of the
Institute of Mental Health, and comprise experts from both the
public and private sectors (see composition in Annex). The Committee
would develop treatment guidelines, quality assurance framework and
identify suitable indicators to track progress of this programme. |
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Source:
www.moh.gov.sg Press Release 29
Mar 2009 |
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FrontPage Edition: Wed 1 Apr 2009
